


PTMA: Parent Teacher Monster Association

by lordofthetardis



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Mute Frisk, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTA Sans, Post-Pacifist Route, School, Sign Language, fight me Helen, stereotypical pta moms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-07-24 13:37:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7510426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordofthetardis/pseuds/lordofthetardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your life was normal until a lost child with monster parents asked you for help. Enter the world of bake sales, fundraisers and passive-aggressive PTA moms- Now with monsters!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost

**Author's Note:**

> So I have never wrote for Undertale before but this fanfic came out of my absolute need for more PTA Sans stuff and my newfound love of Reader/Sans stuff. This will be wrote in 2nd person with trying to keep the reader as gender neutral as possible.

The mall food court was crowded today. You sat at a small table by yourself watching the commotion pass you by. Parents strolled by with their children in tow. Teens sat closely around tables splitting large orders of fries and laughing happily. Unsupervised middle schoolers tried too hard to be too cool, shouting across the room to each other and acting out. You laughed at their antics, shuddering at the thought that your child would go through that too. But for now you sat eating your lunch, content. It was a generally normal Saturday. That was, until a small child tugged on your shirt from beside you.

They looked to be about 8 years old, brown hair hanging messily around their face in a bob. Their striped sweater hung loosely on them as they tugged on their sleeves nervously. Their face was scrunched and their lip trembled. You thought they were about to cry.

“Hi there,” your voice was sweet and kind, “Are you lost?”

The child nodded and began moving their hands in front of their face quickly, making giant gestures too fast for you to understand. You sucked in a breath. Your sign language was rusty at best.

“I know you’re scared but can you do that a little slower? What’s your name?”  
They nodded their head and took a shaky breath. Their fingers curled and uncurled, twisting to form the letters slowly. You mouthed each one as they went, **“F-R-I-S-K”**

You smiled, “Hi Frisk. That’s a really cool name,” you gingerly laid your hands on their shoulder, “Can I take you to the front desk? We can make an announcement together for your parent to come get you.”

Frisk moved their hands around fluently but slowly. You thought you saw them point to themselves and hold one finger up in a circular motion. You smiled softly.

“No, I won’t leave you alone. I’ll stay right with you until they pick you up okay?”

They nodded. You thought you saw them smile. Standing, Frisk held their hand out to you. You took it in yours and headed towards the front desk.

The front desk, was not actually in the front, but more down a hallway off to the side where only a few traveled to. You thought that was fine though. Less crowds was better for a scared child. Glancing down, Frisk seemed to be doing okay but still glanced around them quickly, in search of whoever they came with. You knelt in front of them.

“Can you tell me the names of who you were with? We’re going to tell the lady at the front desk and she’ll call for them.” 

Frisk nodded, hands slowly spelling two names, **“S-A-N-S, P-A-P-Y-R-U-S.”**

“Sans and Papyrus?” you repeated. Frisk nodded again, “Alright, let's call for them.”

The woman at the desk looked to be in her mid forties, thin blond hair cut short framing her round, bored face. You heard the distinctive sound of facebook games coming from the computer at the desk. She looked up at you and put on an attempt at a smile.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes. This child is lost and asked me to help them find their guardians. Can you make an announcement?”

She sat up straighter, concern touching her eyes, “Of course! Who should I be calling?”

“Sans and Papyrus.”

She stared for a moment before picking up the phone. The intercom crackled loudly throughout the mall, “Sans and Papyrus, your child is at the front desk. Sans and Papyrus, your child is at the front desk.”

Frisk smiled at you and the lady, touching their hand to their chin and pulling it down in a sweeping motion, **“Thank you.”**

“Yes, thank you,” you said to the woman.

All of you waited patiently for any signs of Sans and Papyrus. You briefly wondered about their names before Frisk pulled out of your hand with a gasp and darted down the hall behind you. Nothing could have prepared you to see the child fling themselves at two skeletons hugging them tightly.

One was short, maybe coming up to your shoulders wearing a blue coat, basketball shorts and house shoes. The other one was much taller, and had on some sort of armor you believed and a long red scarf. The tall one had knelt down when Frisk ran and now all three of them were wrapped up in an embrace.

“kid, you can’t go running off like that. tori would have killed me if we lost you,” the shorter one said without opening his ever grinning mouth. You notice though his eyes, eye sockets? seemed worried, arching upwards in concern. He had small white pinpricks floating in the void of his sockets. They seemed dull.

“YES,” the tall one shouted, “IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO RUN AROUND WHERE YOU DO NOT KNOW BY YOURSELF. NEXT TIME ASK AND WE WILL TAKE YOU WHERE YOU WISH TO GO.”

Frisk nodded, ducking closer into their embrace. It had been a few months since the monsters were freed from the Underground and you still weren’t used to seeing them. You tried your hardest not to be shocked every time you saw one, reminding yourself that this was normal. They had every right to live with humans. But that didn’t help your surprise at the fact this human child was currently in a group hug with skeletons.

The shorter one glance up from Frisk and caught your eye. You stood straighter being stared at. He untangled himself from the other two and came over. The taller skeleton stood, scooping Frisk up in their arms.

“hey,” he said cooly.

“Hi.”

“thanks for uh, bringing Frisk here. kid slipped away from us while we were shopping and we didn’t know what to do.”

“It’s no problem,” you smiled, “I lost my kid at the fair once. I turned my back for a minute and she ran off to look at something she found. I don’t think I had ever been more scared in my life.”

He seemed to relax a bit at your story. You had no right to say anything when you had lost your daughter in a much worse place than the mall. You held your hand out and introduced yourself. He took your hand. The bones were hard against your fingers but not cold like you were expecting, “i’m Sans. the tall one over there is my brother Papyrus and you already met Frisk.”

“Hello Papyrus”, you called over Sans’ shoulder. He came closer, holding Frisk in one arm, “Frisk is very sweet.”

“YOU ARE THE HUMAN THAT BROUGHT FRISK TO THE DESK, YES?” Papyrus shouted.

“Y-yes,” you stammered. You weren’t sure if he was upset or not but the shouting made you shrink a bit.

His eyes seemed to gleam, “THANK YOU,” he grabbed your hand and held it up “WE WERE SO WORRIED THAT THEY WERE HURT OR GONE. IT WAS SO SCARY. YOU MUST LET US DO SOMETHING FOR YOU.”

“Oh no, you really don’t have to. I was just making sure they got home safe,” you reached out and ruffled Frisks hair. They smiled at you, “When my daughter was lost I was so relieved that someone had brought her to the ticket booths safely. I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost her. I don’t want anyone to feel like that about their child.”

Papyrus looked as if he could cry. You briefly wondered if that was even possible. He gripped your hand tighter, “YOU ARE VERY NOBLE HUMAN,” he shot up, “I HAVE A WONDERFUL IDEA. WE SHOULD GET THE CHILDREN TOGETHER FOR A PLAY DATE. FRISK DOESN’T KNOW MANY HUMAN CHILDREN HERE AND WE MUST THANK YOU IN SOME WAY. WE WILL TREAT YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER TO A MAGNIFICENT PLAY DATE.”

You giggled as he spoke. You were beginning to realise that he was just a loud monster. He seemed to burst with excitement that came out in shouts and grand gestures. You found yourself nodding along. Maybe a play date would be good. Your daughter was a sweet child but had trouble making friends. This might be what she needed.

“I think that would be a great idea,” you turned to Sans, “We could all get together and the kids can play.”

“sounds like a plan,” Sans said placing his hand one Frisks back, “we should probably get each other's numbers so we can set up a time.”

“Of course!” You pulled out your phone and handed it to him to input his number. You took his and Papyrus’ and did the same.

Papyrus gave you back the phone and shook your hand again, “THIS WILL BE A WONDERFUL PLAY DATE. I AM VERY EXCITED.”

“Me too,” you smiled and touched Frisks shoulder, “Would you like that Frisk? I know my daughter would love to meet you.”

Frisk beamed, nodding vigorously, “It’s a date then,” you stepped back from the brothers and turned slightly, “I’ve got to go pick her up from the babysitter but I’ll text you two later about the play date!”

Papyrus waved largely with his entire arm while Sans simply raised a hand and winked, “GOODBYE HUMAN. WE WILL SEE YOU SOON!”

“yeah, catch ya later.”

“Bye!”

You walked away grinning. You hadn’t expected to meet two monsters seemingly caring for a child today and you definitely didn’t expect to schedule a play date with them. It made you giddy though. Your daughter would be very excited to go and you hoped she would make friends with Frisk. You drove home full of hope.


	2. Play Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pizza, puns and play dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this this morning but man has today been hectic! Next week the chapter should be up by midday!  
> Thank you to everyone that has read this and left me such nice comments!

One group text later, you had a play date scheduled for the next day at Chuck E Cheese at noon. You laid down your phone to watch your daughter playing in the floor. Dempsey was humming along to the theme of some children’s show on tv. You weren’t sure what it was as they all blended together at some point. She was playing with her dolls and seemed to be acting out superheroes saving the town. You tucked your legs up under you and leaned against the arm of the couch closing your eyes. You could listen to her stories forever. She spun a tale of an evil villain stealing all the art in the town. Her heroine was brave and smart, tricking the villain into stealing from her house where she captured him and threw him in jail. You opened your eyes as the doll was accepting the key to the city.

Without prompting, she began to clean up her toys, putting them back in their containers and shoving them back onto the shelf. You smiled at her fierce independence. Once she had learned how to do things for herself it was goodbye to your input. She dressed herself and did her own hair and could make her own cereal, all of which you weren’t ‘allowed’ to do anymore. You recall the time you made her breakfast for her a few months back. She had yelled how she could do things for herself now and didn’t need you to treat her like a baby anymore. The cereal then became your breakfast as she poured her own bowl.

All was well though. It made life easier. Although it occasionally insighted tiffs about what she can and can’t do, you wouldn’t have her any other way. She would always be your baby no matter how big she got. You watched Dempsey finish with her toys and stand in the living room, seemingly looking for something to do. You held your arms out to her,  
“Come here and cuddle with me. I wanna tell you about my day."

She grinned, skipping over to the couch. She all but crashed into you as she jumped on the couch. Snuggling down next to you, she looked up at you expectantly. Her light brown hair was messy around her sweet face, dusting over the tops of her shoulders. Her gray eyes lit up in excitement. She loved what she called “grown up talk.”

“What did you do today Per?” she asked, poking you on the nose.

You smiled at the name she gave you. She said it like pear but wrote it like per on all her drawings. The first day she showed it to you on a drawing of the two of you and your house, you asked what it was. “It’s you!” she had exclaimed, “You’re both of my parents in one so you needed a special name because you’re special.” You had immediately hung it on the fridge and held in your tears until she was entranced by her show and you could sneak away to your room. She had only been four when she said it. You weren’t even sure if she remembered it but you would never forget. That one conversation made being a single parent worth every second. When the time came for it to be replaced, at her demand, you got the picture framed. It now sits on your bedside table, reminding you that she thought you were enough.

“I went to the mall today to get a new shirt for work and when I was eating a little kid around your age told me they were lost.”

“Oh no,” she whispered, “Did they find their parents?”

“That’s the thing,” you said petting her hair, “We went to the front desk and called for them and guess who shows up?”

“Umm the principal of the mall?”

You chuckled at her answer, “No, not the principal. Their guardians did show up but they were two skeletons.”

Her mouth fell open, “You met skeletons today?”

“Mmmhmm.”

“That’s so cool!”

She was fascinated by monsters ever since they had been freed. She made you tell her when anything about monsters came on the news so she could watch. Most of her computer time went towards scouring the internet to find out everything she could. Dempsey loved to learn and especially loved to learn about new things, monsters being her new favorite subject.

“You want to know what else?”

“What?” she asked, clearly still excited.

“We scheduled a play date for tomorrow. You and their child Frisk are going to Chuck E Cheese to play.”

“Really?”

“Yes ma’am. Frisk is about your age and they don’t know any human children so we thought it would be fun.”

“Are they nice?” she asked cautiously.

“Yes they are very nice, but Dempsey, I do have to tell you something else.”

“What?”

“Frisk doesn't speak so they use sign language. They can hear you but you’re going to have to really pay attention if they are trying to tell you something. I know you don’t know sign language but if you be patient and try to understand them, you’ll get along just fine.”

She nodded but seemed worried. You were worried too. Dempsey had a temper, especially with other children, which is why she had a hard time making friends. You hoped that this would stick and she could make a friend. It would be good for both of them you believed.

“Alright,” you said tapping on her chest, “It’s time for you to get into bed. You've got a big day tomorrow.”

She started to pout and open her mouth to object but you held up your hand, “Nope. We’ve got to be there at noon so we'll have to be up early. To bed.”

She grumbled a little as she stood but it was half hearted. You smiled as she went upstairs to get dressed. Groaning, you stood to get a cup of tea to unwind. As it steeped, you made your way to Dempsey’s bedroom where she was already in her pajamas and crawling under the covers.

“Goodnight sweet pea,” you said kissing her forehead.

She wrapped her small arms around your neck, hugging you tight and kissing your cheek, “Goodnight Per. I love you.”

“I love you too Dempsey.”

You quietly shut her door and went back downstairs. Grabbing your tea and laptop, you made yourself a spot on the couch and turned on the tv to some mindless house show. You opened your favorite parenting blog to scour for advice. You searched for advice for kids who have hard times making friends, meeting new people, meeting different people, you even tired meeting monsters with no results although you figured there would be none for the last one. An empty cup of tea and a feeling of disappointment later, you shut your laptop. You hoped tomorrow would go okay. You really hoped she wouldn't lose her temper.

\---

The next morning went smoothly. Dempsey fixed her breakfast and got herself dressed without any mishaps. She seemed excited for the play date. You fixed your hair in the mirror while Dempsey ran around getting ready. You wanted to make a good impression. Although you'd hesitate to admit it, Dempsey got her trouble making friends from you. You weren't close with many of the parents at her school and many of them you honestly didn't like at all. You hoped that you could befriend them and maybe that would help Dempsey with Frisk. As you brushed your teeth, your phone buzzed. It was a text.

sans: hey pap was excited for the play date and we ended up here early. we've got a table and food on the way when you get here

You looked at the time. It was 11:30. You had planned to leave in 15 minutes but now you were rushing out the door. Dempsey was still buckling her sandals as you pulled out of your driveway. You looked up at her through the rear view mirror. She was humming happily and swaying back and forth in her booster seat.

“Hey Demi,” you called, “Remember what we talked about last night?”

She nodded.

“What are you going to do when Frisk wants to talk to you?”

“I'm going to look at them and be patient.”

“Yes ma’am and what else?”

“I'm going to try my best to figure out what they are saying.”

“What are you not going to do?”

“I'm not going to yell at them.”

“Or?”

“Push them.”

“Or?”

“Pull their hair.”

“That's my girl,” you smiled big at her. You hoped this last reminder would keep everything calm today. If she lost her temper or got frustrated, you don't know what you would do. They were treating you both to this play date. If she hurt Frisk...you didn't know how you would be able to apologize enough or how you would make it up to them. All you could do now is hope she had gotten better with others.

You pulled into the parking lot, taking a deep breath. You opened the door for Dempsey and she unbuckled herself, hopping down from the back. She took your hand, running ahead and pulling you into the building. The sounds of arcade machines and laughing children filled the air. You could smell the cheap yet somehow tasty pizza from where you stood. The young boy at the door greeted you, stamping both yours and Dempsey’s hand. She bound in place, tugging you lightly. Sans has said they were here with food. You scanned the building looking for the eating area. You saw the sign and made your way over, an excited Dempsey skipping along with you.

The area was mostly empty, clear of parents and children but you spotted the three of them sitting at a table. The brothers had their backs to the front but Frisk was propped up on the table and waved largely when they saw you. You made your way over. At the table, you felt Dempsey slip behind your legs and grab your hip.

“Hey there,” you greeted them, “Sorry we took so long!”

“s’no problem,” Sans answered turning towards you. Papyrus also faced the both of you.

You heard a small gasp come from behind you, “Everyone, this is my daughter Dempsey,” you bent down, pulling her to your side. Pointing, you introduced everyone, “Dempsey, this is Sans, Papyrus and Frisk. Say hello.”

She stepped forward, looking up at Sans, “Can I touch your skull?”

You froze. You had spent so much time worrying about her and Frisk, you hadn't even considered how she would react to Sans and Papyrus.

“Dempsey! Don't be rude!”

“heh. sure kid. i don't mind,” he leaned down to her. She gingerly placed her palm on his cheek, “ _tiba_ honest it's just kids being kids. i find it pretty _humerus_.”

Dempsey giggled, taking his face in both hands. You found yourself laughing too.

“SANS!” Papyrus yelled.

“what's wrong bro? can't you see it tickled their _funny bones_?”

You laughed even harder as Papyrus groaned. You could hear Frisk laughing from the table.

“Yeah,” you said, “It was a real _rib tickler,_ ” you grabbed up Dempsey, tickling her sides. She screamed, laughed and squirmed in your arms.

Even though his smile had never left, Sans looked happy about your joke. His brother on the other hand had his head on the table, shaking it and muttering something about, no more puns. Frisk leaned across the table and patted his head, giggling.

A young girl with short blonde hair walked up to the table carrying a large plate of pizza and five small saucers, “Here's your pizza,” she paused for only a moment when she saw the assortment at the table, quickly returning to her customer service voice, “Don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything else.”

“THANK YOU HUMAN,” Papyrus called as she walked away, “I DO WISH THEY WOULD HAVE HAD SPAGHETTI BUT OH WELL. THIS IS CLOSE ENOUGH.”

You took a slice along with everyone but Sans and began eating. It was just how you remembered it, greasy, tastes slightly like cardboard, but surprisingly good. Even the tiny cubes of what was supposed to be pepperoni were tasty. You thought maybe your food standards had lowered since eating at children's places.

You watched Dempsey and Frisk out of the corner of your eye. They were seated across from each other and seemed to be doing fine. She asked how old they were and when they held up eight fingers you let out a held breath. That was an easy question for her to understand. You crossed your fingers the rest would be as simple.

“So are these two your parents?” She asked taking a bite of her pizza.

Your luck ran out quickly.

Frisk began signing rapidly, seemingly telling a whole story. They were eight after all. Ask an eight year old a question and prepare for a novel length answer. Dempsey focused really hard on Frisk’s hands. You could see her gears turning. You smiled. She really was trying. Thankfully Papyrus came to the rescue and answered Dempsey’s question. Frisk looked slightly relived. You think they knew that Dempsey didn't understand any of what they just said.

“WE ARE FRISK’S GUARDIANS YES. THEY FELL INTO THE UNDERGROUND AND HELPED FREE US.”

Dempsey’s eyes sparkled. She turned to Frisk, “That’s so cool!”

Frisk grinned, taking a bite of their pizza, “ **Thank you.”**

Dempsey turned to you. “That means thank you,” you interpreted.

“Your welcome,” she answered.

Both kids finished their food and looked at the three of you expectantly.

“go play,” Sans told them, nodding in the direction of the games, “go get a pizza those tickets.”

The children both giggled, running off tokens in hands. You could hear Dempsey chatting away and saw Frisk waving excitedly. You shifted nervously. Small talk was never your strong suit.

“So, is Frisk going to school in the city in the fall?”

Sans nodded, leaning his skull into his hand, “yeah, got them setup to start just last week. normally the deadline is the end of june but they made a few exceptions seeing how it's only been,” he paused, counting on his other hand, “four months since we even got here. kinda hard to enroll when undernet never reached the _overnet_.”

You couldn't help the snort that escaped you, “Now that one was a stretch.”

Sans shrugged, “they can't all be winners.”

“Do you know what class Frisk will be in?”

“YES. A WOMAN NAMED MISS GRIZZEL CALLED TO TELL US WHAT FRISK WOULD NEED. WELL, TELL TORIEL WHAT FRISK WOULD NEED.”

“Oh! That's what class Dempsey will be in! They'll at least know each other before going in.”

“DO YOU THINK,” Papyrus paused squinting. He continued, slightly quieter this time, “Do you think Frisk will be okay? They are very nice and they want to be friends with everyone but…”

Sans reached across the table and put his hand on his brother's arms. You reassuringly touched his shoulder, “I think Frisk will be just fine. Kids their age can be mean but they seem like they can handle themselves pretty well. And if this play date is successful, Dempsey is fiercely protective. She won't let anything happen to them.”

Before you knew what was happening, you were wrapped up in large, boney arms. Papyrus was hugging you tightly, shaking your whole body in the seat. Sans was quietly laughing at your shocked face.

“AND FRISK WILL NOT LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO DEMPSEY EITHER,” he was back to his normal volume, back from what would be a regular inside voice to his all the time shout, “AND NEITHER WILL THE GREAT PAPYRUS,” he stood suddenly, “I WILL GO SEE HOW THIS PLAY DATE IS GOING.”

Papyrus held a finger up in the air triumphantly before marching away. You chuckled as he left in search of the kids. You leaned against the table, your chin in your hand. Sans was absently staring at the arcade selection, seemingly lost in thought.

“Is Frisk excited for the year to start? I think the first day is in two weeks.”

Sans snapped his attention to you, “yeah. the kid can't stop talking about it. i’m pretty sure their backpack is already loaded down next to the door.”

“Dempsey’s the same way. She loves school. Her backpack is full and hanging in our hallway. She's even got her outfit picked out already and laid out on her dresser.”

“kids are something aren't they?”

“Yeah,” you sighed wistfully, “she's a ball of energy. I don't think she stops from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed. At least when school starts, she'll be busy for eight hours a day.”

“so uh, what all happens at a human school? i mean, there's monster school, but I don't know how similar they are.” Sans was glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. He was facing the arcade but you could tell his focus was on you. The floating pinpoints in his sockets looked brighter today than yesterday although his eyes seemed tense despite his smile. You saw him fidget with the edge of his jacket sleeve.

“Let's see,” you held out your fingers, counting the classes as you spoke, “Third grade will have one main teacher, Miss Grizzel. She'll teach Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and Reading. They'll also go to electives throughout the week. There should be Art, Music, Gym, Guidance, Computer and Library. Those will all be different teachers. Along with lunch and recess, that'll make a full day.”

He nodded along, turning more towards you as you spoke, “yeah? sounds pretty much like school underground. we had some classes about magic but that was mostly stuff parents did at home,” he paused, seeming to remember something he continued, a lit to his voice, “underground there were meetings for parents to come talk with teachers and plan stuff for the school. there anything like that here?”

“We've got exactly that actually. There's PTA meetings every month, sometimes twice a month if there's a lot going on.”

“pta?” He seemed to be rolling the word around in his mouth, mulling it over.

“Parent-Teacher Association. They do lots of fundraisers and sometimes hold votes for things happening in the school. Mostly it's about how extra budgets are spent.”

Sans scratched his cheek, “you go to these meetings much?”

You shook your head, “I tried when Dempsey was in Kindergarten but I didn't get along very well with many of the parents.”

Sans hummed.

You smiled gently, “We can always go together if you'd like. I'd be more willing to go if there was someone there I liked.”

A look of shock passed over Sans for half a second before he was back to his ever cool demeanor, “that'd be great. we can give them a proper schooling if they get out of hand.”

A laugh burst out of you before you could stop it. You covered your mouth, chuckling. Sans looked at you, leaning into his palm. He looked ready to spit out another pun but you never heard it. At that moment Papyrus returned with the kids who you could barely see under the pile of tickets each one held.

“SANS. WE HAVE ACQUIRED MANY TICKETS FOR PRIZES NYEH HEH HEH. DEMPSEY WAS VERY GOOD AT SKEE BALL.”

She poked her head around the mountain of tickets, smiling ear to ear, “It was easy once Papyrus picked me up!”

You made a sound that half way between a laugh and a gasp.

Sans sat up from the table, “that's awesome bro. looks like you found your _ticket_ to success.”

You almost couldn't hear the screeching scream from Papyrus over the sound of everyone laughing. Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that chapter was long! Thank you to everyone again!


	3. First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day of school and you're excited and nervous.

 

The next two weeks passed faster than you would have liked. Your off days were filled with your daughter and early mornings belonged to just the two of you before running off to work, Dempsey already pulling on the babysitters arm, ready to play. School meant your off days would be devoted to the home, and errands but you also relished the idea of a few days to yourself. You would miss the movies with Dempsey or the long hours of playing house with her dolls but she was ready for the year to start back. She picked and re-picked her outfit for the first day, dumped out her backpack only to put everything back in in a slightly different order. She went on long tangents about how she was excited for the third grade because third grade gets to go to the pumpkin patch and do the corn maze, that third grade gets to learn cursive, and third grade gets to do many other wondrous things that she had heard from older students.

The night before the first day, your phone buzzed as you shut Dempsey’s door for bed. Settling into the couch, you opened the text.

sans: did you have a hard time putting dempsey down tonight? frisk put up a pretty decent argument about going to bed. said that they wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway so they should just stay up.

You snorted. After the play date, you had been communicating with the brothers pretty regularly, every couple of days or so. You got the kids together once or twice and used the time to talk parent talk. It was refreshing. You had one other parent friend, Charlotte, but she had been on a family vacation all summer with her daughter Tally and her husband Michael. You smiled. Maybe you were getting better at this. Pulling the blanket over your feet, you answered the text.

You: Dempsey tried the same thing. Trust me, you learn pretty quick what excuses they’ll use. It’s like they're born with innate stalling skills.

sans: they almost had pap stumped which is pretty impressive. if there’s anything he loves it’s puzzles. after about forty five minutes he finally convinced them that school would get here faster if they slept. although most of that was papyrus. he can get a little carried away sometimes.

You: Sounds like how I finally got her to go to bed. Do you want to meet up before school so we can send the kids off together?

sans: yeah that’d be good. tori’s gonna be with me too. she didn’t want to miss the kids’ first day of school.

You were excited and nervous. Sans had mentioned a woman named Tori a couple of times but you never got around to asking who she was. You figured you would find out tomorrow

You: That’s so sweet. :) Well I’m going to get ready for bed. Early morning tomorrow!

sans: night

You: Night. Tell your brother goodnight for me

Clicking your phone off, you streched. It was time to shower and climb into bed. Before going up stairs, you unzipped Dempsey’s backpack. She had packed it about 100 times but you just wanted to make sure she had everything for in the morning. You flipped through her notebooks, pencil pouch and folders. You saw a book that you hadn’t remembered packing and pulled it out. In your hands was a sign language for kids book. Tears pricked your eyes and you flipped through the pages. There was a bookmark in the chapter about school and another in the greetings page. You closed the book, sliding it back into her bag. The babysitter must have taken her to the library while you were at work. You vaguely remembered her saying something about it last week.

You zipped her bag and hung it up in the hall with a happy sigh. Dempsey was trying so hard to make friends with Frisk. You made a mental note to thank her in the morning for how hard she was working and to possibly treat her after school. The sound of your feet shuffling across the floor echoed through the quiet house as you made your way to bed. Tomorrow was the first day of third grade. Dempsey was excited and was making friends for once. You slid into bed, pulling the covers up to your chin and clicking off the light. Your only worry was the PTA meetings that you agreed to go to. The first and last meeting hadn’t gone well. You were sure that they wouldn’t be good this time around but you promised. Sighing, you pushed out the thoughts of the other parents and willed yourself to sleep.

\----

You were triple checking Dempsey’s backpack when the doorbell rang. Dempsey ran to the front, swinging the door open wide.

“Hi Frisk! Hi Mr. Sans!” she paused, “Who are you?”

You set down her bag and peeked around the corner. In the door were Sans and Frisk like you expected but another monster stood next to them. She was taller than Sans by quite a bit, the top of her head a foot from the doorframe. She had the face of a goat with soft white fur, small horns sat on her head next to flopping ears. Her eyes were a deep rust color with a gentleness behind them. A small smile held her lips. She wore a purple tunic with some insignia you didn’t recognize on the front. She held her hands clasped in front of her. Kneeling, she introduced herself to Dempsey.

“Hello my child. My name is Toriel.”

Dempsey seemed to consider her for a moment, interest in her eyes. She held her hand out and pet her arm, “You’re soft.”

Toriel chuckled softly, petting the top of Dempsey’s head, “Why thank you.”

You quickly made your way over, “I’m sorry about that. She has no filter I swear,” you held your hand out and introduced yourself. Dempsey was right. Her hand, paw?, was soft. You made a note to find a time to ask about monster terminology, “Come in please. We’re almost ready.”

You showed Sans and Toriel into the living room, Frisk having already found their way into Dempsey’s room to play. Their backpack sat in the floor next to the door.

“Coffee?” you offered to the two of them.

“No thank you,” Toriel answered while Sans just shook his head and waved his hand, “Your home is lovely.”

You almost jumped. Chuckling you answered, “Thanks. I don’t think anyone’s told me that before.”

“hows the kid this morning?” Sans asked, slouching down into the couch.

“A pinball as usual. She actually woke me up this morning,” you glanced at your watch, “I think she’s been ready for an hour now. It’s me that’s the hold up.”

Dempsey came barreling down the stairs at that moment, Frisk on her heels, “Per! It’s time to go! We’re going to be late!”

All three of you checked some sort of watch or phone. “We’re on time Demi I promise,” you answered. Grabbing your wallet and phone, you ushered Dempsey to the door, “The school is just a few blocks away from here and we’ll be right on time if we walk.”

Dempsey let you hold her hand as you walked which was the best thing to ask for this morning. She chatted with everyone as you went. Frisk held onto Toriel’s hand, pulling away when they needed to answer. Sans walked next to you, hands in his pockets. Dempsey talked joyfully with Toriel about books she read over the summer so you turned to Sans.

“Are you and Toriel doing anything after this? I always take the first day of school off. Maybe we could get coffee together.”

“sounds good kid. i got the day off too and i don’t think tori’s got anything planned today either.”

She looked up at the mention of her name, “Me? No. I don’t have anything to do today.”

You smiled big, elbowing Sans, “Coffee it is.”

The school came into view and Dempsey almost ripped your arm off pulling you forward. The building was old brick, fading in some spots. Tall gray pillars framed the front double doors and the sign that simply read ‘School.’ You were glad that this was the only one in the city or else directions might get confusing. You turned to Dempsey.

“Do you want us to walk you in or let you off here?”

“Here is fine,” she answered confidently, “I’ll show Frisk around and we’ll stick real close.”

You smiled and knelt in front of her, “Thank you for being such a good friend. You’ve been so nice,” you felt tears prick your eyes again but you blinked them back, “Now give me a hug and kiss before you leave.”

Dempsey wrapped her arms around your neck, burying her face in your shoulder. You squeezed her tight. Looking over her shoulder, you saw the same scene playing with Frisk and Toriel. She had them wrapped tightly in her arms, snuggling into their hair. Sans stood behind Frisk with a boney hand on their back. You kissed Dempsey’s cheek and she kissed yours. She untangled herself from you, grinning a toothy grin. You fixed her hair, pushing the stray hair away from her face.

“Okay you stick close to Frisk and help them out. They’ve never been to this school before. Be nice and listen to your teacher. We’ll be back to pick you up at one since it’s a half day.”

Dempsey nodded, “I will,” she hugged you again, kissing your cheek, “I love you Per.”

“I love you too,” you stood, patting her on the back, “Go on and get to class.”

Frisk separated from the tangle of goat and skeleton and tapped on Dempsey’s arm, **“You ready?”**

“Yup! Let’s go!”

The two of them ran up the sidewalk, only looking over their shoulders to wave before they went inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man guys today was a day and it was a struggle to get this chapter out. I hate to cut it short but the next scene is pretty important and I didn't want to force a chapter and it be bad. If I can, I'll update sometime this week to make up for it! Thank you for all the comments! They really make my day!


	4. Coffee and Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have an eventful conversation at the coffee shop and run into old friends at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this chapter is late. We have a family friend and her three kids staying at the house right now and my power went out yesterday so to say there's a lot going on at home would be an understatement. If I'm ever late on chapters I'll try my best to put them up the next day! I hope it was worth the wait! Thank you!

The three of you walked a few blocks down the road to a small, local shop that you frequented often on your days off. It was cozy with bright open windows that let in the morning sun. Most of the tables were empty as they had just opened an hour ago and people rushing to work went through more popular stops. You waved to the man who owned the store as you came in with the two behind you. There was a moment of shock that passed his face before he regained his composer. 

You ordered a small black coffee and Toriel asked if they had tea. Sans, like before, didn’t order a drink. The three of you sat at a small round table, drinks in hand. Toriel was sitting tall in her chair, back straight but hands relaxed on the table. Sans was slouched down in his chair, hands in his pockets. 

“So Toriel, what do you do?” you asked, taking a drink of your coffee. You weren’t good at small talk but you were going to try.

“Right now I babysit other monster children while their parents are out and getting adjusted. With school starting back though I don’t have much to do during the day.”

“I know what you mean. My days off are going to be strange without Demi again. Maybe we could get together on those days? We could run errands together.”

“That would be wonderful! I still don’t know the city very well so it would be nice to go with someone.”

“Sounds like a plan,” you smiled, turning to Sans, “I’m surprised you haven’t shown her around more. You seem to be out a lot.”

“me? yeah. i’ve been exploring since we got here tryin’ to find my way around. tori’s been pretty busy with the other kids though these past few months.”

You nodded, “That makes sense. Easier to get things done when you’re not keeping track of a kid the whole time,” you paused, “Is Frisk adjusting well?”

“kid’s a dream. they’re a lot tougher than they look. they’ve been just fine since we came to the surface but i mean, frisk came from here so i guess it’s not that hard to adjust back to where you just were.”

“Your brother mentioned that Frisk helped free you. Can I ask what happened?” You weren’t sire if you were crossing a line or not but figured asking to ask wouldn’t hurt.

Sans shrugged, “we’d been stuck down there our whole lives. the barrier had been sealed hundreds of years ago. Frisk fell from Mt. Ebott and the kid was determined enough to get us out that they never gave up. they were able to not only open the barrier but did it without hurting anyone. everyone got out because of Frisk.”

You found yourself leaning forward, chin in your hand, as he spoke, “That is...that is amazing.”

Sans looked at you, seemingly just noticing how entranced you were by his story, “kid’s pretty special alright. they’ve got the mind and the determination to do whatever they put their minds to. i don’t think they’d let anything stop them, especially not something like school.”

You sat back in your chair, at a loss for words, “I think Frisk will do just fine,” you said quietly, with a small laugh under your voice.

“I do hope so,” Toriel spoke up from across the table, “They are strong but I can’t help but worry.”

You laid your hand on Toriel’s wrist, “They’ll be okay. Worrying is just part of raising a kid but, after what Sans just said, I know they’ll be fine.”

She smiled at you, a touch of sadness behind her eyes. You thought you shouldn’t push farther than you had today. Quickly, you changed the subject to something lighter.

“So,” you sat up and took a drink, “How long have you two been together?”

The shock that passed over their faces came in an instant. Toriel choked on her tea, coughing, while Sans just didn’t move. HIs eyes had gone wide though. The second of shock passed with Sans laughing. Toriel followed after catching her breath. They both chuckled, shaking heads and waving hands. They both tried to speak at once.

“Oh no, we’re not-”

“tori’s a nice lady but-”

You felt yourself flushing, “I’m sorry! You mentioned that you’re both raising Frisk so I just assumed-”

“no no, we’re both raising them but it’s more like a joint thing.”

“Frisk lives with Sans and Papyrus because they live closer to the school than I do.”

“tori was coming over all the time or frisk would go spend nights over there but we’re figuring it out again because of school starting.”

“I am so sorry,” you apologized, covering your face.

“It is nothing to be sorry for!” Toriel said laughing, “It’s quite funny.”

“yeah, no harm done kid. i see where you got it. kinda confusing when frisk calls tori mom and occasionally calls me dad.”

You nodded laughing, “So you’re not married or anything?”

“nope. i’m unattached but tori here has been trying to make up with her ex these past few months.”

“Your ex?”

“Ex-husband yes. I was very mad at him before we were free but…” she paused, gathering her words, “I thought we could maybe try again. We had quite a history and I’m not sure if I can throw it all away.”

You nodded, “Too many good memories to toss because of the bad ones?”

“Yes. I’m not saying we’re together by any means and I’m not sure when or if I would ever be ready to be a couple again but I think being friends again could be a good start.”

“just know that i’m pretty certain alpyhs has a betting pool going for you two.”

“Are you pretty certain because you have money in it?” you ask.

“i might have a few coins in it.”

“Sans!” Toriel gasped. She smacked his arm lightly.

He chuckled, “sorry tori,” he turned to you, “so you raising dempsey by yourself?”

“Yeah. It’s just been the two of us from the beginning. We got pregnant when we were young, both of us about 18. They said from the start that they didn’t want kids and couldn’t handle them so I said I can take care of her myself.”

“geez, i’m sorry.”

“No, no,” you shook your head, “It was never a problem or a fuss. They didn’t want a kid and I did so we agreed from the start that this is what would happen. We stuck it out until she was born and parted ways after that. I didn’t see the need to make a big deal when we could figure it out ourselves. They moved out of state I think. We didn’t want to make things difficult for Demi, so she doesn’t see them. We both agreed it be easier.”

Both Sans and Toriel has concern creasing their eyes, “It’s never been a problem though. I always knew I wanted kids. I just got mine a little earlier than everyone else,” you smiled big. It really wasn’t a big deal. Everything went smoothly and there was no turmoil between the two of you. 

Sans rubbed at the back of his skull awkwardly, “early morning coffee talk got a little heavy don’t you think?”

You chuckled, “It did didn’t it? Why don’t we talk about something lighter?”

“Like feathers?” Toriel asked.

There was a beat of silence before both you and Sans were laughing. 

“heh tori you’re pretty  _ coo _ ”

“Nah I thought it was pretty  _ fowl _ .”

“Well I think the two of you are a  _ chirp  _ off the old block.”

The rest of your coffee day passed with easy puns and easy talk. The three of you laughed and joked like old friends despite having only met such a short time ago. You found yourself feeling relaxed around them and you realised that, even though he wasn’t there, you had gotten used to Papyrus too. These monsters that you had known for only a few weeks, Toriel a few hours, were quickly becoming good friends. You hoped that at school, Frisk and Dempsey were getting closer too. You thought that maybe you both had gotten better at making friends.

You looked at your watch after what felt like a few minutes to find it had been hours. It was time to go back to school to pick up the kids. You paid for all yours and Toriel’s drinks before you left, still laughing with the two of them. The walk was nice. You were on the end with Sans in the middle. The sun was high over head, burning down on the three of you. You couldn’t wait for the heat to slip into the cooler months. You made a note to dig out the winter clothes to see if they still fit Dempsey. She probably needed a new coat. 

The school came into view with another 30 minutes to spare before they would all coming running out the front doors. The three of you found a nice shady bench to sit on until then. Parents were already milling around the front, waiting for their own children. You didn’t see any other monster parents but then again, you weren’t sure if there were any monster children coming to this school. Some of the parents cast glances at the three of you, trying to look but not being obvious enough to stare. You looked over at Sans and Toriel. She seemed unfazed, humming quietly and looking at the flowers on the bush next to you. Sans however seemed to be challenging them. He was making eye contact with everyone that looked over, making them turn back faster than they looked. Some of them did full 180 turns, looking into the opposite direction. He chuckled and looked at you. You peeked at Toriel who still seemed caught in her own thoughts. Looking back at Sans, his eyes were bright and mischievous. You laughed behind your hand, a snort coming out. 

At that moment a silver minivan pulled along the side of the road, window down. A woman with a light brown hair with chunky blond highlights in her bob haircut sat in the front. When she turned, you could see it was cut short in the back, getting longer as it came to the front and was teased some for volume. Large sunglasses covered her eyes. Her mouth was set in a pout. You tried to turn away from the road before she could see you.

She yelled your name, pushing her glasses to the top of her head “Is that you?”

No such luck.

You took a deep breath and put on a fake smile, “Linda! How are you?”

“I’ve been great. We just got back from our cruise. Who are your,” she paused for only a second but you, and everyone else, caught it, “ _ friends?” _

“This is Sans and Toriel. We’re picking up our kids together.”

“They have children here?” you could here the accusatory tone in her voice.

“yeah we do,” you looked at Sans and almost jumped yourself. You figured he didn’t like being talked about because even though he was smiling, his eyes had went dark and seemed intense. He tapped your arm with the back of his knuckles, never taking his eyes off Linda, “They should be getting out any minute now right?”

You watched Linda recoil into her car, a sight which made you snort, “Yeah. They should be coming out soon.”

As if on cue, the doors opened, a sea of kids ran out to the respective parents. Dempsey and Frisk ran up to the bench and stopped in front of you. Frisk hugged Toriel and then Sans. Linda looked as if someone had killed a puppy in front of her. You hugged Dempsey and felt paper crinkle between the two of you. She pulled away and you saw a note stapled to her dress. You groaned. If there was a note on her dress that meant she had gotten in trouble, the kind of trouble where they thought she would throw the note away without the staple. You decided to deal with it out of sight of Linda. Her son and daughter ran up and climbed in the back of the van, slamming the doors behind them.

Sans stood, taking Frisk’s hand, “see ya around linda.”

She didn’t answer but instead pulled down her shades and drove away. 

“I hate her,” you mumbled as you walked away. 

“she an angel like that all the time then?”

“Oh yeah. She’s the main reason I quit going to the PTA meetings. She’s the president of it here.”

“that will make meetings fun.”

You took that opportunity to check the note stapled to Dempsey’s dress. You read it out loud, “Dempsey got in trouble today for pushing down children on the playground and shouting at them. This is her first warning. Please have a discussion with her at home,” you let go of the note and looked at her.

“What happened?” you asked as you all walked in the direction of home.

“Someone was saying that Frisk was stupid and that I was stupid for being their friend!”

Frisk pulled their hand out of Sans and signed quickly, with Sans translating for you as they went, “it was a boy in our class. he said i was dumb because i don’t talk. he tried to push me down but demi pushed him down first and yelled at him. she said that he was the one who was dumb and she kicked mulch at him.”

“Is this true Dempsey?”

She dipped her head, suddenly fascinated with the sidewalk, “Yes.”

You stopped, kneeling in front of her, “Listen. Thank you for sticking up for Frisk. You were being a good friend and a good person by sticking up and saying something when someone is getting picked on. That’s a really good thing to do and I don’t want you to stop.”

She smiled big.

“However,” you continued, “You can’t push people down. It’s not nice. Just how you didn’t want him to push Frisk down, you can’t push him down either. Okay? If someone is being mean, stick up for them. Help get them out of the situation and then tell a teacher okay? If the teacher doesn’t do anything tell me when you get home.”

She nodded, still looking at the ground.

“I’m not mad at you. Come here and give me a hug. I’m proud of you for sticking up for Frisk.”

Dempsey smiled and hugged you tight, “I love you Per. I’ll try not to push them down again.”

“Thank you. Try really hard okay?”

“Okay.”

You stood up and looked at Frisk, “Are you okay?”

They nodded and leaned against Toriel’s arm.

“Today has been an eventful day hasn’t it?” Toriel asked, petting Frisk’s hair.

“That’s a word for it,” you turned your attention to Sans, “So after meeting queen bee of the PTA you still up to coming?”

“are you kidding me? she’ll make the meeting fun.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading! Comments make me really happy so please leave some!

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaah! First chapter down! I would really love feedback, ideas of where the story should go and any suggestions!


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